The aim of this study was to evaluate the antiaging effect of a probiotic mixture using an in vivo mouse model in which aging was induced with d-galactose. Results of the Morris water maze test indicated that long-term administration of the probiotic mixture improved memory and learning abilities and ameliorated the apoptosis pattern in the hippocampus of aging mice treated with d-galactose. An antioxidation experiment indicated that administration of the probiotic mixture could restore activities of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase and catalase and inhibit the production of malondialdehyde. The antioxidant-related proteins nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) were upregulated in liver after treatment of d-galactose-treated aging mice with probiotics. Finally, the probiotic treatment did affect the production of short-chain fatty acids in d-galactose-treated aging mice. Our results highlighted a possible antioxidative effect triggered by short-chain fatty acids that contributed to improving the memory and learning abilities following treatment with the probiotic mixture and suggested that probiotics could serve as a therapy to modulate physiological function.

Mastitis in dairy cow significantly affects animal performance, ultimately reducing profitability. The reciprocal interrelationships among ruminal microbiota, metabolome, and mastitis combining early inflammatory factors (serum proinflammatory cytokines) in lactating dairy cows has not been explored, thus, this study evaluated these reciprocal interrelationships in early lactating Holstein dairy cows to identify potential microbial biomarkers and their relationship with ruminal metabolites. The ruminal fluid was sampled from 8 healthy and 8 mastitis cows for the microbiota and metabolite analyses. The critical ruminal microbial biomarkers and metabolites related to somatic cell counts (SCC) and serum proinflammatory cytokines were identified by the linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) algorithm and Spearman’s correlation analysis, respectively. The SCC level and proinflammatory cytokines positively correlated with Sharpea and negatively correlated with Ruminococcaceae UCG-014, Ruminococcus flavefaciens, and Treponema saccharophilum. Furthermore, the metabolites xanthurenic acid, and 1-(1H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-yl) ethan-1-ol positively correlated with microbial biomarkers of healthy cows, whereas, xanthine, pantothenic acid, and anacardic acid were negatively correlated with the microbial biomarkers of mastitis cows. In conclusion, Ruminococcus flavefaciens and Treponema saccharophilum are potential strains for improving the health of dairy cows. The current study provides a novel perspective to assist in targeting the ruminal microbiota with preventive/therapeutic strategies against inflammatory diseases in the future.

The difficulty of long-term management has produced a high rate of failure for obesity patients. Therefore, improving the efficacy of current obesity treatment is a significant goal. We hypothesized that combining a probiotic Lactobacillus mali APS1 intervention with dieting could improve the efficacy of obesity and hepatic steatosis treatment compared to dieting alone. Mice were fed a high-fat diet for 6 weeks and then treated with: saline + normal diet and APS1 + normal diet (NDAPS1) for 3 weeks. NDAPS1 accelerated body weight loss and reduced caloric intake and fat accumulation. The fecal microbiome showed that accelerating weight loss by NDAPS1 resulted in restoring intestinal microbiota toward a pre-obese state, with alteration of specific changes in the obesity-associated bacteria. APS1 manipulated the gut microbiome’s obesity-associated metabolites, followed by regulation of lipid metabolism, enhancement of energy expenditure and inhibition of appetite. The specific hepatic metabolites induced by the APS1-manipulated gut microbiome also contributed to the amelioration of hepatic steatosis. Our results highlighted a possible microbiome and metabolome that contributed to accelerating weight loss following treatment with a combination of APS1 and dieting and suggested that probiotics could serve as a potential therapy for modulating physiological function and downstream of the microbiota.

Yatein is an antitumor agent isolated from Calocedrus formosana Florin leaves extract. In our previous study, we found that yatein inhibited the growth of human lung adenocarcinoma A549 and CL1-5 cells by inducing intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic pathways. To further uncover the effects and mechanisms of yatein-induced inhibition on A549 and CL1-5 cell growth, we evaluated yatein-mediated antitumor activity in vivo and the regulatory effects of yatein on cell-cycle progression and microtubule dynamics. Flow cytometry and western blotting revealed that yatein induces G2/M arrest in A549 and CL1-5 cells. Yatein also destabilized microtubules and interfered with microtubule dynamics in the two cell lines. Furthermore, we evaluated the antitumor activity of yatein in vivo using a xenograft mouse model and found that yatein treatment altered cyclin B/Cdc2 complex expression and significantly inhibited tumor growth. Taken together, our results suggested that yatein effectively inhibited the growth of A549 and CL1-5 cells possibly by disrupting cell-cycle progression and microtubule dynamics.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become the main cause of chronic liver disease worldwide, and the increasing trend of NAFLD has burdened the healthcare system. NAFLD encompasses a wide range of liver pathologies, from simple benign hepatocyte steatosis to more severe inflammatory nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. Djulis (Chenopodium formosanum Koidz.) is traditionally used as a native cereal and a food supplement that promotes human health through its antioxidant, hepatoprotection, skin protection, hypolipidemic, hypoglycemic, and antitumor effects. Djulis hull, regarded as agricultural waste, is usually removed during food processing and contains high rutin content. The present study evaluated the anti-NAFLD effect of Djulis hull and its major compound, rutin, in mice with high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity. Male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into one of five diet groups (n = 6 per group) and fed the following for 16 weeks: (1) normal diet group (ND), (2) HFD group (HFD), (3) HFD and oral gavage of low dose (50 mg/kg) of Djulis hull crude extract group (HFD/LCE), (4) HFD and oral gavage of high dose (250 mg/kg) of Djulis hull crude extract group (HFD/HCE), or (5) HFD and oral gavage (50 mg/kg) of rutin (HFD/R) group. We found that Djulis hull crude extract markedly reduced HFD-induced elevation in body weight and fat around the kidney weights, hepatic injury indicators (AST and ALT), and steatosis and hypertrophy. Furthermore, Djulis hull crude extract administration significantly affected DG(20:4/18:1), PA(22:0/17:1), PC(10:0/17:0), and PA(18:4/20:5) in HFD-induced obese mice. In addition, treating HFD-induced obese rats with Djulis hull crude extract significantly increased fatty acid oxidation by increasing the protein expression of phosphorylated AMP-activated protein kinase, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α, and hepatic carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 in the liver. Moreover, the administration of Djulis hull crude extract significantly decreased the inflammatory response (PPARγ, IL-6, and TNF-α) to modulate oxidative damage. Therefore, Djulis hull crude extract attenuated the progression of NAFLD by reducing inflammation mediated by PPARγ and enhancing the expression levels of genes involved in fatty acid oxidation mediated by AMPK signaling.

(1) Background: We aimed to isolate and identify potential next-generation probiotics (NGP) by investigating the interrelationships between gastrointestinal microbiota and diarrhea in preruminant Holstein calves. (2) Material and methods: Twenty preruminant Holstein calves were divided into healthy and diarrheic groups after the combination outcomes of veterinary diagnosis and fecal scores. The fecal microbiome, plasma cytokines, plasma immunoglobulin (Ig) G and haptoglobin were analyzed. The potential probiotic bacteria were identified by comparing the microbiota difference between healthy and diarrheic calves and correlation analysis with fecal scores and inflammatory markers. The identified bacteria were also isolated for further evaluation for antimicrobial activities and immunoregulatory effects. (3) Results: Microbiota analysis suggested that Ruminococcaceae_UCG_014, Bifidobacterium and Pseudoflavonifractor positively correlated with bovine IgG and negatively correlated with fecal score; inflammatory factors, bovine HP, and IL-8 were classified as beneficial bacteria contributing to the health of the calves. The alternation of gut microbial composition also induced changes in the functional gene enrichment of gut microbiota in calves. The gathering of microbiomic data strongly indicated the possible beneficial effects of Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum, expected to develop as NGP. After isolation and evaluation of the potential functionality in vitro, two specific bifidobacterial strains demonstrated antimicrobial activities and immunoregulatory effects. (4) Conclusions: The results provide a new probiotic searching approach for preventing gastrointestinal disorders in preruminant calves. Further animal study is necessary to verify the results.

Most microbiome studies of dairy cows have investigated the compositions and functions of rumen microbial communities in lactating dairy cows. The importance of the relationships among hosts, microbiota, diet composition, and milk production remains unknown in dry dairy cows. Thus, in the present study, the composition of the rumen microbiome in cows from three dairy farms was investigated to identify core bacteria contributing to various physiological roles during rumen fermentation in dry dairy cows. The results indicated that ruminal fluid in dry dairy cows from different regional farms had core rumen microbiota that could be clearly distinguished from that of cows of the other farms. Further identification of key microorganisms associated with each farm revealed that Prevotella, Methanobrevibacter, Pseudobutyrivibrio, Ruminococcus, Bacteroides, and Streptococcus were major contributors. Spearman’s correlation indicated that the abundance of genera such as Prevotella and Ruminococcus in dry dairy cows could indicate milk yield in the previous lactating period. Functional pathway analysis of the rumen bacterial communities demonstrated that amino acid metabolism and carbohydrate metabolism were the major pathways. Our findings provide knowledge of the composition and predicted functions of rumen microbiota in dry dairy cows from regional farms, which underscore the importance of the relationships among hosts, microbiota, diet composition, and milk production.

In this study, we annotated the major flavonoid glycoside, rutin, of djulis hull crude extract using a Global Natural Products Social Molecular Networking (GNPS) library and its MS/MS spectra. To evaluate the protective effect of djulis hull crude extract and rutin on glucose tolerance, we fed mice a high-fat diet (HFD) for 16 weeks to induce hyperglycaemia. These results showed that crude extract significantly decreased HFD-induced elevation in the area under the curve (AUC) of weekly random blood glucose and oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT), homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR), and advanced glycation end product (AGE) levels, and significantly increased pIRS1 and Glut4 protein expression in epididymal white adipose tissue (eWAT) and liver. Furthermore, the HFD-induced reduction in the activity of glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and catalase (CAT) was reversed by crude extract. In addition, ZO-1 and occludin protein expression in the colon was markedly downregulated in HFD-fed mice, resulting in decreased intestinal permeability and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) translocation, but were restored following crude extract. Moreover, the crude extract intervention had a profound effect on the alpha diversity and microbial community in the gut microbiota. Therefore, djulis hull crude extract could improve blood glucose and increase insulin receptor sensitivity in HFD-induced hyperglycaemia, which is likely due to its modulation of the gut microbiota, preservation of the integrity of the intestinal barrier to reduce body inflammation, increased antioxidant activity, and modulation of insulin signalling.